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The position of the retinal area centralis changes with age in Champsocephalus gunnari (Channichthyidae), a predatory fish from coastal Antarctic waters

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Abstract

Histological examinations of the topographical distribution and the area of highest density (the area centralis: AC) of presumed retinal ganglion cells found in the retina in 0- to 6-year-old Champsocephalus gunnari revealed differences between younger and older fish. Individuals of up to 2 years of age had the AC in the temporal retina, whereas in 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-year-old fish it was positioned in the ventro-temporal region of the retina. The main visual axis in the pitch plane of C. gunnari was shown to shift from facing forward to an upward-forward direction during growth, corresponding to the habitat change in this species from pelagic to benthic. Moreover, the AC in 0- to 3-year-old fish was near the retinal periphery, but displaced towards the inner retina in 4- to 6-year-old fish. This means that the visual axis in the horizontal plane of the younger fish was directed towards the frontal sector of vision, while in the older fish a slightly more lateral position was favoured. Therefore, younger fish can be expected to possess superior binocular vision when it comes to prey closely in front of them, but in older fish it seems more important to have a wider visual field to detect prey (and possibly predators) within a greater volume of water.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Tomonari Hayashi for his careful dissection and preservation of samples on the boat deck. We are also grateful to crews of R/V Niitaka-Maru, Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., for helping with the collection of fish. Thanks also to Ms. Rie Shimizu and Mr. Sakuya Yamauchi who assisted with some of the histological analyses. We acknowledge Dr. J.A. Macdonald and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the earliest draft. This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) from the JSPS (No. 15570086; 17570077), and also partly by a grant from the Fujiwara Natural History Foundation and a grant from the Mie University COE-A Program. VBM-R wishes to thank the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for the support during his latest stays at Mie University and Hamamatsu Medical University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan

    T. Miyazaki

  2. Tokyo Kasei-Gakuin University, Machida, Tokyo, 194-0292, Japan

    T. Iwami

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Jacobs University, P.O. Box 750561, 28725, Bremen, Germany

    V. B. Meyer-Rochow

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  1. T. Miyazaki
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  2. T. Iwami
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  3. V. B. Meyer-Rochow
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Correspondence to T. Miyazaki.

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Miyazaki, T., Iwami, T. & Meyer-Rochow, V.B. The position of the retinal area centralis changes with age in Champsocephalus gunnari (Channichthyidae), a predatory fish from coastal Antarctic waters. Polar Biol 34, 1117–1123 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-0969-2

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